Data Storage Converter

Convert between bits, bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes, and petabytes. Shows both binary (1024) and SI (1000) values.

Type a value in any field. All units update instantly. Defaults show 1 GB.

bit
B
KB
MB
GB
TB
PB

SI (decimal, 1000-based) equivalents:

1,073,742KB (SI)
1,073.742MB (SI)
1.073742GB (SI)
0.001073742TB (SI)

How to Use the Data Storage Converter

  1. Type any value. Enter a number in any unit field. All 7 binary units (bit through petabyte) update instantly. No button required.
  2. Binary (1024-based) vs. SI (1000-based). The main fields use the binary system: 1 KB = 1,024 bytes, 1 MB = 1,048,576 bytes. The panel below shows the SI equivalents where 1 KB = 1,000 bytes. Hard drive manufacturers use SI, which is why a "1 TB" drive shows as about 931 GB on your computer.
  3. Common conversions. Streaming video is often measured in megabits per second (Mbps). A 4K stream at 25 Mbps uses about 3.125 MB per second of data. Type 25 in the Megabyte field to check storage equivalents.
  4. Bits vs. bytes. Network speeds are almost always quoted in bits per second (bps, Kbps, Mbps, Gbps). Storage sizes use bytes (B, KB, MB, GB). To convert a download speed to file size per second, divide Mbps by 8 to get MB/s.

Example: a 4.7 GB DVD. Type 4.7 in the GB field to see: 40,265,318,400 bits, 5,033,164,800 bytes, 4,915,200 KB, 4,800 MB, 0.004590 TB.

Data Storage Conversion Formulas

All binary conversions use bits as the base unit:

Value in bits = Input × toBits factor
Result in target unit = Value in bits ÷ toBits factor
UnitBits (binary, 1024)Bits (SI, 1000)
1 bit1 bit1 bit
1 byte8 bits8 bits
1 kilobyte8,192 bits (8 × 1,024)8,000 bits (8 × 1,000)
1 megabyte8,388,608 bits (8 × 1,024²)8,000,000 bits (8 × 1,000²)
1 gigabyte8,589,934,592 bits (8 × 1,024³)8,000,000,000 bits (8 × 1,000³)
1 terabyte8.796×10^12 bits (8 × 1,024^4)8×10^12 bits (8 × 1,000^4)
1 petabyte9.007×10^15 bits (8 × 1,024^5)8×10^15 bits (8 × 1,000^5)

The IEC introduced specific names to avoid ambiguity: kibibyte (KiB = 1,024 B), mebibyte (MiB = 1,048,576 B), gibibyte (GiB), tebibyte (TiB). Operating systems like Windows show GiB but label them "GB", while macOS switched to SI (1000-based) GB in 2009.

Frequently Asked Questions

Hard drive manufacturers use the SI (decimal) definition: 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. Your operating system uses the binary definition: 1 TB = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes. So a 1 TB drive contains 1,000,000,000,000 / 1,099,511,627,776 = about 0.909 TB in binary terms, which Windows displays as roughly 931 GB. The drive is not lying, the two systems just define "tera" differently.

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